The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Anthurium plant, botanically known as Anthurium andreanum, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Red Miraclexe2x80x99.
The new Anthurium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Schipluiden, The Netherlands. The objective of the program is to create and develop new freely flowering Anthurium cultivars that have strong roots, dark green leaves, attractive spathe color, and good inflorescence longevity.
The new Anthurium is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of the Anthurium andreanum cultivar Leny, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,272. The new Anthurium was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within a population of plants of the cultivar Leny in a controlled environment in Schipluiden, The Netherlands in September, 1998. The new Anthurium was selected on the basis of its thick petioles and spadices.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by tissue culture in a laboratory in Belgium has shown that the unique features of this new Anthurium plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.
The new Anthurium has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of the cultivar Red Miracle. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Red Miraclexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright and somewhat outwardly spreading plant habit.
2. Dark green leaves.
3. Dark red-colored spathes with dark purplish red-colored spadices that are positioned upright and beyond the foliage on strong and erect scapes.
4. Freely flowering habit.
5. Good inflorescence longevity.
The new Anthurium can be compared to the parent, the cultivar Leny. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Schipluiden, The Netherlands, plants of the new Anthurium differ from plants of the cultivar Leny in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Anthurium have longer and narrower leaves than plants of the cultivar Leny.
2. Plants of the new Anthurium have thicker petioles than plants of the cultivar Leny.
3. Plants of the new Anthurium have thicker spadices than plants of the cultivar Leny.